Abstract [en]

A growing number of municipalities are using parking as a planning tool in order to create more attractive cities with fewer cars. Effectively designed parking strategies could contribute to a more equitable urban environment with cleaner air and higher degree of accessibility. The purpose of the study is to examine why visitor parking is used for workplace parking and how this situation can change. The basis for the study is fifty qualitative interviews conducted in a medium-sized Swedish town in strategically located car parks. Five different types of mobility styles are identified: the sustainable traveler, the comfortable motorist, the stressed motorist, the country side-motorist and the motorist that needs the car during work days. The groups that are most vulnerable to changes that make it more difficult or expensive to park in the city are the groups with complex everyday life mobility patterns, as well as groups that lives in remote places with limited access to public transport. The study also confirms that many of the informants are not habitual motorists, but use public transport or bicycles when possible. It is of relevance to support parking measurements that encourage individuals to use public transport or cycle when possible, rather than measurements that legitimize habitual car driving.